She watched her cousin twist and turn, playing in the currents, long hair streaming behind her and wrapping around her lithe body as she breached and returned to the safety of the waters with barely a splash. Her pale skin shone in the filtered sunlight, tinted slightly blue-green. Her long tail propelled her forward, the rich sapphire color highlighted in brilliant amethyst. The princess arched her back, spinning in a tight circle before diving under her cousin and breaching again, soaring so high into the air she could see the shore. Michiru seemed to have some sort of power over the ocean, and no wave or current could tame her, no matter how wild. Ami ran her coral comb through her short hair, watching as Michiru slowed to a stop, her sapphire tail moving back and forth lazily to keep her still, purple fins shimmering in the light, long hair flowing forward to tickle her cousin. (What are you up to, Ami-chan?) Ami laughed, a light, bubbly sound in the mermaid world. (Mako-chan asked to see me today. It's the first time in weeks she's been free of royal duties and can visit the bay.) (You sure do go to a lot of trouble to see this woman. What's she like?) (She's very sweet, though she has a tendency to lose her temper, and I know how alone she is. She looks strong, but she is very scared sometimes and she is very alone.) Michiru raised one eyebrow. (I think you really have feelings for her! Let me go with you! I want to meet this special woman.) Ami blushed. (I really want you to meet her, Michiru-chan. But the Bay is forbidden by your father's laws.) (As if I ever gave a shark's tail what my father thinks. Please, Ami-chan?) (Then let's go before someone comes looking for us.) Ami grabbed Michiru's webbed hand and headed for the shore, both mermaids laughing as they prepared to defy their king. (I know you'll like her; I told her all about you.) (You must really care about her, then, to trust her that much, shy little Ami-chan.) Ami nodded as the pair caught sight of the shore, pulling her cousin toward a secluded bay. (I love her, Michiru-chan.) The princess stopped, staring at the young duchess. (You really do, don't you? Okay, now I really want to meet her.) *~*~*~*~*~*~* Makoto sighed as she waited, sharpening her arrows for lack of anything better to do, watching the surface of the water in the secluded bay. Her pointed ears caught every rustle in the grasses, every ripple in the water, but she couldn't hear her lover's siren call. Deciding that the mermaid couldn't get away from the palace, the elf stood to leave. "Mako-chan?" The soft words caught her attention, and she put her arrows on the ground, kneeling down by the water's edge as a familiar blue head popped above the surface. Ami smiled as she pulled Makoto into a gentle kiss, the salty water on her lips intriguing the elf. When the elf pulled away, she raised an eyebrow at the aqua-haired mermaid hovering behind her lover, sapphire eyes cautious. "Who is this, my sweet?" "This is my cousin, Michiru-chan. She wanted to meet you." Michiru swam closer, eyes wide as Makoto stood up. The mermaid stared at the elf's strange coloring, the green top half of her body and light brown bottom half, including leathery back fins. The woman had chestnut colored hair pulled back into a very simple ponytail, and the skin on her face, neck, and lower arms was a third color, a light tan. "Why are you so colorful?" "What do you mean? Oh, my clothes." Makoto pulled her shirt off and slipped off her pants, piling her clothes and boots neatly by the water's edge. "Landlings wear coverings over their entire bodies to protect them from the elements. You mermaids have scales to keep you warm or cool, but we do not have such luxury." "Are you not warm-blooded, too?" "Yes, but our bodies have a difficult time maintaining homeostasis without help." She smiled as she slid into the water and wrapped her arms around Ami. "I kinda' prefer your no-shirt look myself." Ami purred and leaned against the tall woman as the brunette treaded water. The mermaid grinned as she flicked her tail back, between Makoto's legs, and the brunette groaned, eyes fluttering closed. Michiru, sapphire eyes wide, swam closer, biting her lip. Her cousin smiled, and the young princess reached out and ran her fingers over Makoto's smooth skin, marveling at the texture. "No scales," she purred. "How much like us are you?" "How so, Michiru-san?" "Well, like . . ." Michiru backed off, fluttering the gills on the sides of her neck, her thin purple dorsal fin lifting out of the water for a moment before folding against her spine once more. Ami recognized the signs of confusion and perhaps a little trepidation in her cousin, and she touched the older woman's arm. (Do not be afraid to ask any question, Michiru-chan. Mako-chan is a friend of the seas.) Michiru nodded. "What about your offspring? Do you carry your young internally until they are ready to join this world?" "We do. I think that all of the sentient species on this planet do. And we nurse them with milk, as you do." Makoto let her fingers roam over Ami's body, eliciting a bubbly purr from the mermaid. Michiru smiled at the mating pheremones her cousin was emitting, knowing that the landling would not know the purpose of the perfume. The blue-haired duchess twirled in her lover's grasp and kissed her, tongues dueling for control as Michiru watched, wondering if she would ever find someone so wonderful. "I missed you," Ami purred, expelling air through her gills underwater as the pair separated. "I came every day, Ami." "I couldn't get up here until today," Ami pouted. "Her father watches us closely these days. I tried my best." "My father watches me, too, but he does not suspect that I wander off to see a very beautiful Sea Woman." Michiru laughed as her cousin blushed, leaping out of the water, arcing completely out of the water before returning to her element. Ami squealed her delight as she followed, breaching inches from her lover and soaring over Makoto's head before slipping back into the water. Makoto grabbed Ami around the waist and let the mermaid pull her under, cavorting with the pair before she had to surface to breathe. The three surfaced together, laughing, then Michiru froze, Ami still a second later. Makoto looked back into the woods, wondering what the pair heard, and when she turned back, the mermaids were gone. "Makoto-san?" Makoto let her eyes return to land as one of her friends, an elf lady named Yuriko, entered the empty clearing. "Princess? Are you bathing for the reception?" "Yeah, sure." Makoto, her disappointment evident in her voice, stepped out of the water and dried herself off, slipping back into her clothes and boots. "Mako-chan? What's wrong?" Yuriko looked out across the calm bay and thought she caught a glimpse of blue at the rocky entrance, but the image was gone an instant later. "Oh, I see. Your mermaid was here again." Makoto nodded as she swung her quiver over her shoulder. "She brought her cousin today, the princess. You frightened them away, Yuriko-chan." "I'm sorry," the shorter elf apologized. "I know you care for her." "I love her," Makoto whispered. "I don't know how to tell her, or even if I should, but I love her." "Mako-chan, you have to marry a man sooner or later. Your father won't let you stay single forever." "I know. I'll marry whomever he chooses and have the children he demands, but I will always have Ami for love." "Let's head back to the city," Yuriko suggested gently. She took Makoto's arm and headed back into the trees. A young Faeri, her long golden hair shining in the sun, sat in a tree by the bay having observed the entire thing with her pale blue eyes. Her golden butterfly wings, folded along her spine, fluttered twice before she jumped off her branch and headed for the desert and the volcanoes just visible in the distance.
Back to Desperately Searching Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction